RALEIGH – In a previous Daily Journal (see here: http://www.carolinajournal.com/dailyjournal/082202.html), I wrote that the long-debated state lottery issue will continue to play an important role in North Carolina statewide and legislative politics. Since writing it, I have spotted another primary where the issue seems to be the only major dividing line between the two candidates, in this case Republicans.

In the 26th Senate district, Sen. Bob Shaw of Greensboro faces fellow Sen. Phil Berger of Rockingham County in a GOP primary. On most issues, the two candidates are similarly conservative, with Shaw enjoying somewhat of an edge in prominence as a longtime member and former minority leader. But on the lottery, Shaw has come out in favor of a voter referendum, while Berger remains implacably opposed on the grounds that the lottery would be an unstable and inequitable way to raise money for the state.

This could be a race where the issue determines the result, though in a Republican primary I tend to think that the anti-lottery candidate has a leg up, particularly in a situation where turnout is likely to be low. Still, Berger hails from a Virginia-bordering county, and urban areas like Greensboro are the most likely to boast “conservative” primary voters who are at least ambivalent about if not actively supportive of a lottery.